Free throw shooting, defense carries Madison-Grant to victory over Eastern

Even though they lost to Lapel the previous, Madison-Grant Head Coach Brian Trout was impressed with how the Argylls played against the Bulldogs.

And while Madison-Grant’s offense was not as crisp on Saturday night against the Eastern Comets, their defensive performance, paired with their strong free throw shooting, helped them come out on top in a 60-50 triumph.

Neither team created much separation in the first two quarters. The Argylls held a slight 16-14 edge after the first eight minutes, before the Comets were able to tie it up at 25-25 at halftime.

But in the second half, the Argylls got after it on the defensive end, and it helped turn the game in their favor. Madison-Grant built a 41-35 lead after three, and held their advantage the rest of the way.

Furthermore, the Argylls were dynamic at the free-throw line, missing only six of their 32 opportunities.

“Our defensive pressure in the second half was the difference in the game, and we were able to get to the line,” Trout said. “We hit 25-of-32 tonight. Those two things were the difference in the game.”

While the Argylls only shot 37 percent from the floor against Eastern, Justin Moore and Seth Lugar played excellent basketball on the offensive end. Moore finished with 18 points on six-of-six shooting, while Lugar collected 13 points on 80 percent on four-of-five attempts.

“I’d much rather have a game like tonight than a 25-point win this time of the year because we had to do the little things tonight that make a difference to pull out a win on the road,” Trout said. “Those things are going to go farther, at this time of the year, than a 25-point blowout. We didn’t play well offensively, but we did everything else we needed to do to pull out a nice road victory.”

Madison-Grant wraps up the regular season with contests against Monroe Central and Taylor.

“We’ve been mentally and physically tougher than we have been all year,” Trout said. “Hopefully that carries over, because those are the things we have to have to win tough basketball games against good teams.”

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